Looking for secondary power panel

marvmarcy

Well-known member
I have a Magnum MS2812 w/BMK and R50 remote and am looking for a suitable secondary power panel. Any suggestions?

I have looked at the primary panel (Cutler Hammer) and want to pull out six breakers for inverter power. These will go into a secondary panel, maybe easier if also Cutler Hammer. Has anyone installed an inverter system like this and have suggestions? I was a class 2 journeyman, but only did structured wiring and similar in homes, commerial, school and church - not mobile applications usually. Things have changed a lot since I sold my business in 2000 and went rving fulltime. Thanks for your help.

Marv
 

eddylives

Well-known member
Hey Marv , I just want to get this right.
You want to pull some existing 110V circuits out of your factory panel and re- wire them to be powered from an invertor instead?

I too am interested in this idea to run a couple of TV's/DVD player in our new trailer while dry camping.
I was just going to do my own seperate system but if it can be done using the existing outlets it would be easier for sure.
A few things I have concerns over are:
1-the length and guage of wire to go from the battery's to an invertor located at the panel....14-18 feet or so. And the line loss leading to possible malfunction.
2-would a regular invertor do it , like one you just plug into or would a different one be required? Like a hard wired unit.

Hmmm hope an "electrical wizard" chimes in and has the do's and dont's of something like this. We would like to have our new unit set up to dry camp like our old unit for the start of our season.
 

branson4020

Icantre Member
The inverter should be located close to the battery so as to minimize the low-voltage, high-current, cable length. You really want to keep the cable length to under 6 ft. or so. The 120V wiring from the inverter to the sub panel can be as long as required without any concern about voltage drop.
 

marvmarcy

Well-known member
You have a choice of using a sub panel (secondary power panel) or inverting to the whole rv. I will pull out six of the thirteen breakers and place them in a sub panel. I will add a suitably sized breaker (in my case- 30A) to the main panel to feed the inverter and passed through the inverter to the sub panel. The main panel will still handle high power loads (ACs, washer, dryer, water heater, fireplace and converter - if retained). The sub panel will handle lower power loads (microwave, GFCI outlets, std outlets, central vac, ceiling fan, etc.). This still requires some care in managing loads to avoid draining the batteries too quickly.

The MS2812 is about as large as you would want in a typical rv. It can require up to 400 amp-hours from the batteries, depending on load and configuration. So you would want to add a bank of batteries to handle the load effectively. By the time I'm done, this system will have cost about $2,500.

I'm looking for a source for a 30A rv sub panel, similar to the 50A main panel installed by Heartland.
 

sdrubrecht

Active Member
No need for a special rv panel. Any small panel with suitable spaces will do. Mine is mounted in the basement. Minor inconvience but I have yet to pop a breaker there. Branson is right about the inverter needing to be close to the batteries. Too small a wire or too long a run and the inverter can't produce full power. Also, my inverter, a Trace 2000, has a built in main breaker. It is more sensitive than the 30 amp main on the panel,even though it is rated at 30 amps also. It has popped a few times when I overloaded things. Consider that also when you locate your inverter. Good luck with your install, sounds like you are on the right track.
 

marvmarcy

Well-known member
Steve, I'm in Key West where I have limited selection and high prices, but I may just get a small panel from our little Home Depot.

My rig was prewired for an Onan genset, but I will just use two Honda 2000s tied into the prewired genset electrical box in the front bay. The batteries will go in containers where the genset would be installed and vented outside. There is plenty of room next to the genset box for the inverter, away from any battery fumes and well ventilated as well. My battery cables will be less than 5' of 0000 gauge welding cable, something else I can't get locally. This is going to be a lengthy project, but well worth the effort.
 

BuckO

Member
Marv,
Key West – I am jealous. I have not been there in several years, but looking forward to going back when I can consider retirement in a few years. I saw a park on Sunshine Key, but did not know there any options in Key West.
I am also installing an inverter, but I decided to only separate the entertainment circuit. I am currently installing automatic transfer switches to do the switching. I am installing a 50A switch for the generator feed to the entire trailer and a 30A switch for the one isolated entertainment circuit. The switches will transfer to the alternate source when the inverter or generator is running. I only dry camp a few times a year and I found that the generator has to run daily to charge batteries, so we time our charge period when we need to use the microwave and other 110v loads. I just mounted and wired the switches in the basement and will make an access panel on the basement wall. This will make servicing easier if I have any trouble.
Good luck with your project, hope it works out well!

Buck
 

porthole

Retired
If you are going to spend the money, why not get an inverter that will minimize your installation heartaches?
One of the newer Xantrex/Heart Interface inverters should work out quite well.

One of the 3K models has two lines in - 2 lines out. Automatic transfer switch and is a 150 amp battery charger to boot. All automatic once installed. Remote control panel to see what is happening and to control all of the inverter features.

http://www.mcmaster.com/ is one good source fro your welding cable, connectors and shrink tubing.
Another is http://www.pacergroup.net/

And as others have mentioned, inverter as close to the batteries as possible.
 

marvmarcy

Well-known member
Buck, We stay at NAS Key West -retired military. There is another Landmark and two Cyclones here also - maybe more Heartlands I haven't seen.

Porthole, I've already got it installed and working. The inverter is only inches (through a steel wall) from the batteries. The only difficult part of installing is getting to things buried in the belly.

Thanks to all for your responses.

Marv
 
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